Becoming a True Man...

Becoming a true godly man…it's not something I personally aspire to attain…because, after all, I'm not a man, I'm a woman! :-) But…I do admit, it's something that I pray for and long to see attained by my brothers: my biological brothers, as well as my brothers in Christ. 

For years I've had a few prayers on my "requests list for God," prayers that have not changed or been written off. Even when I see the answer happening, I still keep praying! Why, because I know that these men I pray for are just a work in progress…and there is never a time when they will have arrived. They need continued prayer, just as I need continued prayer.  

Let me share a few of these prayers I've been praying over the years:

Dear God,

• May these men grow to fear and honor you above all others! May they seek your approval above the approval of their fellow man.
• May they surrender every area of their lives to you - may they look to you alone for their wisdom and their guidance.
• Help them to know Your purpose and what You have created them to be. May their lives be a fulfillment of your purposes and your glory and not their own.
• Shield their mind from the lies of the enemy. Give them mental strength and confidence, not in themselves, but in the truths of Your Word.
• Strengthen them to resist and flee from the temptations of the flesh and of the world. Hedge them in and protect them from the distractions of the enemy. 
• Help them to be good stewards of the gifts you have given them: of their money, their time, their affections, and their energy. Help them to realize that life is short and only when they seek you first will their lives be filled with your blessings.
• Bless the work of their hands. May every thing that they do prosper and bring honor to you and be used towards the salvation of others. 
• Sustain their health. Give them self discipline, mentally and physically that they may abide by the 8 laws of health, and that they may not waste their time or health on frivolities - video games, television, the cheap and superficial, the lusts of the flesh. 
• Protect them from the attacks of the enemy, but give them just enough trials to keep their eyes upon you and to refine their character. Don't allow them to be crushed, but bruise them so that they may grow.
• Make them men of personal and private integrity - men that will be true to You and to their conscience even when the doors are closed and no one is watching. 
• Bless them with an untarnished reputation - untarnished by the darkness of the world. However, if they are put on trial for being a Christian, may there be enough evidence to convict them.
• Guide in their relationships that they may have wisdom. While seeking to bless and witness to all that cross their paths, help them to only choose their closest companions of men that will point and encourage them to greater heights of surrender, and a closer walk with you.
• Make them men that are willing to sacrifice the good things of life that they may have the BEST thing in life: YOU!
• May they be men of the Word - willing to not just profess the Word, but spend hours studying it and learning it's truth.
• Make them men of prayer - not men that just profess to believe the power of prayer, but men that are willing to spend hours and nights in prayer, agonizing for the lost, agonizing for a closer walk with you!
• Make them men of the tenderest velvet - tender towards others, towards those that are in pain, tender towards the things of God, not afraid to cry, and made tender by the passion of the heart of Christ.
• Finally, make them men of steel - Soldiers that will stand for You even in the face of death. Men that will speak for You even if their life is at stake, men that will live for You even if it becomes the most unpopular thing in the world to do!

God, I give you my brothers, my Father, the men in my life that I respect, and the man I hope to spend my life with (that I have yet to meet). Make them Your Men, True Men!

I will continue to pray this prayer as long as I live, both for my brothers, my teammates in service, and for whatever godly men that God brings across my path. Why: Because even though I can see God answering my prayers even now…I know that their lives are just a work in progress. As deceptions are increasing, so are the attacks of the enemy. Just this past year, I've been saddened to witness men of the highest character have moral falls. No one is exempt from destruction…no one is safe for a moment without prayer. So I will continue to pray for my men…for God's men!

But I have to say - how proud I am to be big sister to two very incredible men!!!!!! 

God is answering my prayers! He's answering the prayers my parents have prayed long before I knew about the power of prayer. He is at work. Yes, I've seen my brothers stumble, I've seen them struggle, and I've witnessed their pain. Yet I've seen them grow stronger through the battles life has given them. I've seen them wrestle all night (yes, all night!!) in prayer. I've seen them spending hours meditating upon God's Word, memorizing scripture and hiding it in their hearts. I've seen them reaching out to others with a love and compassion that is seldom seen from men in this day and age! They aren't perfect, they are still growing, and they have a long ways to go… just like me! But I'm so thankful for these men…godly men, that God has placed in my life. And it is a privilege to lift them up in prayer! (I love you Homer and Daniel!!!!!)

Looking around it's kinda perplexing what has been happening to the godly line of men. But it's no accident. The devil has a plan and he is attacking and trying to strip our men of the godly masculinity that God intended them to posses. It's no accident that they have lost their backbone, their strength, and their determination to stand for truth. It's no accident that instead of being bold defenders of truth, the majority of our Christian men have become lukewarm pew warmers, content to let others do the job! The devil knows what he's up to. But we must not let him succeed… We (both men and woman) can stand against him in this battle. And we stand not alone…

"What shall we then say to these things. If God be for us, WHO can be against us?" Rom 8:31

 

It's also no accident that we are told exactly what is needed:

"The greatest want of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though theheavens fall." Education, p. 57

Just because we've been raised in Christian homes… just because we've memorized many Bible verses and can argue our beliefs, just because we've been home schooled all our lives or taught to eat a simple healthful diet… just because we claim to belong to a "Remnant people"…  just because that or anything else doesn't really make us true men and woman! 

"One’s claim to manhood is determined by the use he makes of the powers that God has given him. The members of the human family are entitled to the name of men and women only as they employ their talents for the good of others. It is when ministering to others that man is most closely allied to God. He who is true to his God-given manhood will not only promote the happiness of his fellow beings in this life, but will aid them to secure the reward of the life to come." RH July 11, 1907, par. 4

To be true men (and woman)…we must not just have Christ, but be changed by Him! Changed to change others!

[Author's endnote: To hear one of the most powerful sermons on what is godly masculinity, please listen to: The Measurement of a Man! It's powerful!